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THE SEVEN ELEVEN PROJECT

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Thank You, Come Again: The Seven Eleven Project

By: David Schultz

Earvolution.com

As American Idol consistently proves, there are a number of singers throughout the country with strong voices, but quite few who truly know how to use them in synch with other musicians. About a month ago, in the middle of Licorice's late night set at New York City's Lion's Den, Sabriena Stone, who sang with the band during their infancy, unassumingly took the stage for a medley of the Pointer Sisters' "How Long" and Eric Clapton's "Get Ready." While not only astounding the crowd with her undeniably strong voice, equally impressive was Stone's ability to work with Licorice rather than battle them for a place in the song.

At the Lion's Den this past week, Stone appeared as one half of The Seven Eleven Project, an acoustic duo with Licorice guitarist David Lott for a fun set featuring Beatles covers as well as Lott's originals. With Stone and Lott securely comfortable with stable and promising bands, The Seven Eleven Project exists as a side project for the long-time friends. Stone fronts the New York based quartet 5th of July with guitarist Larry Post. The group just released their debut album, No Surprise on 1/5 Records. The album features Stone and Post's straightforward rock and roll that shows off their considerable musical range and songwriting talents, evoking a Dylan-like quality on "God Fearing Willie." On songs like the ballad "Tonight," the blues-rock "Bound To Come," and the Journey-esque "No Surprise," Stone continues to show there's more to singing a song than simply hitting the right notes. Lott's band, the innovative quartet Licorice, has already received jamband.com's prestigious title of New Groove of the Month. Currently in the process of firming up their spring concert dates, Licorice confirmed an April 21 appearance at New York City's Knitting Factory as part of the upcoming Green Apple Music & Arts Festival.

Before a crowd that filled the club to see them, Stone & Lott opened with Tom Pettys "Time To Move On," and covered The Beatles' "Oh Darlin'," "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," Phish's "Back On The Train," Dylan's "If Not For You" and the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duet "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly" over the course of their set. The Project also played Licorice's "Freeze" and Lott originals "Who Knew," "Anyway" and "Fish For Dinner." While touching upon some cornerstones of classic rock, the two chose songs that allowed Lott to show off some fancy guitar work and Stone, who sang the entire evening while seated, to exhilarate with her bombastic voice. Instead of closing the night with a classic rock anthem or an endearing moving ballad, Stone and Lott joyously raved up The Jeffersons' theme song, "Movin' On Up," finishing the show on a note that had the crowd howling for their piece of the pie.

Continued by band:

It was evident that Stone and Lott (childhood friends) had re-discovered their chemistry in playing and creating together. After the success and sound at the Lion's Den they decided to take the project a step further to longtime musician/singer/collaborator/friend Michael "Skitz" Fitzpatrick. Adding another voice and a complementary guitar or bass (solo or rhythm), opens the vocals harmonies up as well as the musical arrangements for deeper and more profound explorations with the material and each piece!

While Lott and Skitz go back as laughing partners many years, musically, they venture to the post-college power trio they started The Murray Lazlo Trio (2001). Lott played electric guitar and Skitz played electric bass, and Brian Factor played drums on mainly instrumental jazz-fusion inspired songs for the short lived project. Interestingly enough, the Murray Lazlo Trio recorded a 5 song demo album in Brooklyn featuring a Lott composition called "Brett Belias". They brought Sabriena Stone into the studio to lay down the vocal tracks marking the first time the three had worked together. Shortly after that, Stone joined the power trio on stage live for several nights of good fun.

After the Murray Lazlo Trio had ended, Lott decided to put a quartet together with Stone as the lead singer. For a bit over a year, Stone headed up the now popular jamband Licorice as they all found themselves musically. Sabriena headed to front her own indie-rock outfit 5th of July, and Lott assumed vocal duties along with bandmate Chad Dinzes in Licorice. Skitz had moved back to New York and the three felt an electricity of ideas, good friendships and laughter bringing them back together again. It was only a matter of time before this group got going.

Right now the trio performs every Thursday at the Baggot Inn in the West Village in New York City, while maintaining their regular musical projects. The material ranges each week from R&B, to Blues, to Funk, to Folk, to Jazz, to Ballads and Classics. They hope to record in the near future.